Go Seigen: Match Player

Introduction

Go Seigen played a total of 41 matches (31 won, 3 draw, 7 losses)
in length ranging from 2 to 10 games, the latter of course being
the most prestigeous.
The only of these matches he lost was to
Fujisawa Hosai.
Some ten years after this defeat he took revenge and beat
Fujisawa Hosai by 7-3 and 5-1 respectively
(both in best of ten matches).

The rule for match play was that when the difference in the
score would make it necessary to change the handicap the
match would be abandoned.
Go Seigen achieved this four times (against
Iwamoto Kaoru,
Fujisawa Hosai,
Karigane Jun'ichi and
Sakata Eio.
In the latter two cases this meant the match was abandoned prematurely.

His score in the best-of-three matches was comparable: 20
matches won and only five losses. So, on average he scored 80%
against his contemporaries over a period of thirty years, a
truly remarkable achievement.